Natsu's Flirtatious Feline
by deltaprime11
Summary: Inspired heavily by Agitsogirls "Naruto's Flirtatious Feline". Natsu and Happy are returning from a courier mission, the kingdoms of Fiore's sudden peace leaves little for the aggressive dragon slayer to do, that's when he runs into a strange cat-girl named, Erza.
1. Something

**A/N: Now, I have a few motivations for this rewrite, the first of them is that for a début chapter, it was one of my worst and it was WAY too short (I don't think anyone will argue with this one) The second was it was too much like the fiction this is inspired off of, I want to put my own touches on the idea not rewrite that writers fiction, So I hope you all enjoy the changes! And as for why I didn't get a chapter out Monday or Tuesday, My final Exams have started and they are Every Monday and Tuesday for the next month and a bit, so I will try to get those fictions updated, but I am so tired after Exams I can't make any promises.**

Natsu trudged along the winding paths of the east forest, he had accepted a 'dangerous' courier job, well not that there were any other missions really available and so the Great S-class mage Salamander was a mailman, it wasn't all bad at least Happy was still around.

"What's up, Natsu?" Happy asked, munching on a small fish they had recently caught.

"I'm itching for a fight," Natsu growled irritably "It's been week's since I got to hit something and these courier jobs aren't even a little bit hard."

"Well, monster activity is always down during winter," Happy looked up as if pondering "And since the Council cracked down on the Dark guilds, there are almost no criminal mage guilds left."

"I know, peace is great but why do _all _the monsters have to go to sleep," Natsu continued to complain, he wore a large dark black cloak to guard against the winters chill, which surprisingly even effected him in all his heated dragon slayer glory, although he still wore his signature Jacket and pants underneath, he was glad for the fabric to protect against the wind "Ice queen went off and married Juvia and they are going for a month, i just wish_ something_ interesting would happen."

"Hey, Natsu?" Happy asked

"Hm?" Natsu hummed in response.

"Have you ever heard the saying: Be careful what you wish for?" Happy finished.

"Yeah, of course I have," Natsu replied, a little annoyed at his best friends crypticness (**A/N: Is this a word? Prolly not *shrugs*)** "Why?"

Before the small blue feline could open his mouth, the bushed beside them shook and Natsu barely had time to turn his head before he landed on his back with a heavy thud, he groaned and shook the stars from his eyes as he rubbed the back of his head "What was that?"

"I don't know, but it got the box!" Happy shouted, his small white wings keeping him hovering above Natsu's head.

"Stay here!" Natsu shouted as he broke through the underbrush after the thing that had decked him.

He heard a long howl and raised his head slightly, so the thing that hit him was being chased by more than just him 'Be careful what you wish for seems appropriate for this.' He thought wryly as he vaulted a broken in half tree.

He frowned at the splintered trunk of the thick tree 'There shouldn't be anything awake that can do _that_.' He thought as he lowered his body and slowed his pace, he could see the tracks of what appeared to be a human girl clearly in the ground 'I swear to god if this is my fan club again.' He almost growled audibly at the thought, his status as the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail had garnered him a small but devoted fan base, one that just happened to be the scary follow you home and lure you into the forest kind of fan club.

He lowered onto his stomach and crawled under a thick bush and another downed tree, peering out of the cover of the greenery at the small clearing, The human? That sat in the centre of the clearing had the box set on the ground, she pawed at it curiously much like a cat would, Her body was barely clothed, what looked like midnight black fur covered her chest in a band that wrapped around her back and the same material made up the almost nonexistent shorts she had on, leaving almost her entire body for wandering eyes, and quite the body she had. Her large mounds moved with her rapid breathing and her long slender legs were perfectly toned, but what drew his attention were the pair of red, white and black fox ears sitting atop her head, the things twitched and turned listening all around her as she played with the small brown box that was Natsu's mission, and a similarly colored tail flicked above her head, his eyes fell to the very full ass that was practically staring him in the face and he looked down at the dirt beneath him as his mind had a field day.

He shook his head violently and crawled out from the bushes, he stayed low and moved silently, a twig snapped behind him and he lost sight of the cat-girl as he whirled around, a low rumbling growl came from the bushes that he was just in and he glared down at them as his fists lit up, a large black and white wolf stalked its way out of th bush, moving around him in an arc as four more jumped into the clearing, Natsu watched the beasts carefully, the larger of the five snarled at him and he bared his teeth at it "Come one then! I have been waiting for a fight and I don't have all day!"

The wolf seemed aggravated as it charged him, he broke into a run towards it as the beast jumped at him he slid under it and threw his arms into its stomach, it let out a pained yelp and hit the ground, its fur slightly singed, it let out another yelp before running off back into the forest, the other followed the first creature and Natsu pulled on his shoulder and rolled his neck, before turning his attention back to the cat-girl who had his box.

The girl had changed considerably, she crouched low and glared at him, her teeth were longer and sharper and her nails had sharpened into claws as she kept her unflinching gaze on him, her ears were pressed back against her head and her tail swished behind her adding to the aggressive Aura she was putting out.

"Oi!" The hybrid froze and frowned at him in confusion "I helped you, so give me my box back!" Natsu demanded a little harshly, before sighing and rubbing his face, all his pent up frustration was apparently released in that little fight and he had barely 'fought' at all.

The girl cocked her head to the left cutely, moving towards him slowly lifting her head at regular intervals and taking deep inhales of the air, he would call it an excited smile if her teeth weren't sharpened to a point, he raised his hands in defense "Uh, Don't eat me?" He said worriedly

The girl snapped out of whatever stupor she had been in, her teeth reverted to normal human teeth and her nails retracted leaving the cute fox ears and tail as she continued towards him, she got within a few meters and lowered like she was about to pounce, before Natsu could register anything he had hit the hard forest ground again, the stars in his eyes took a little longer to dissipate this time and his vision was still blurry when color and shape returned, the girl buried her head in his neck and took another long inhale, before sitting up slightly and looking directly into his eyes a twinkle of excitement lay in them, before he could question why she had tackled him, her mouth was over his, her soft lips moved passionately into his and their warmth overwhelmed his mind, her was vaguely aware she was poking his lips with her tongue, and he rather blankly open his mouth, his mind slowing down to a crawl as the sensation of her tongue inside his mouth hit him, she explored his mouth quickly and enthusiastically. Before the warmth was gone, and she was merely sitting there looking down at him expectantly and with a slight and insanely cute look of puzzlement on her face, his mind only had enough time to process three distinct words 'Damn, She's, Cute.' Before it blanked.

He stared up at the deep brown eyes of the hybrid that had just kissed him blankly as his mind struggled to process and reboot, he was aware of her mouth moving but he couldn't hear anything, he sat up slowly and she stared at him worriedly, he shook his head slightly and sound came rushing into his ears.

"I could never eat my mate, don't be silly, but I am sorry if I scared you, is there something wrong, am I displeasing you?" The questions hit him at the same time and he was unsure if she had said that all in rapid concession or if he had just heard it in rapid concession.

Natsu held up a finger and she closed her mouth, He rubbed the back of his hand and looked at his fingertips, a small matted dark splotch of blood covered his fingertips, he turned his head and looked at the spot where his head had connected with the ground, of course he finds the _one_ stone on the forest to hit his head on.

The girl spotted the blood on his finger and went into a state of panic, her mouth releases another torrent of questions before he could answer any of them "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? What do I do to help?" She ended up looking at him slightly teary eyed in dismay and he smiled reassuringly.

"I'm fine," He answered "It's just a scratch I will get check out at the guild."

"Guild?" The girl coked her head to the side and her ears twitched curiously.

"Yeah, I suppose you could say they are sort of like my family," Natsu smiled "My name is Natsu."

The girls smile seemed to light up the forest a little bit "You may call me Erza, my mate."

"Mate?" Natsu questioned.

"Yes, Mate," Erza nodded excitedly "It's taken a really long time to find you, but now that I have can we start mating?"

Erza leaned forward and captured him in another rather passionate kiss, he managed to retain control of his arms and he placed them on her shoulders and moved her away from him slightly "I'm sorry Erza, but I don't think I am who you are looking for, I mean we only just met we can't just start mating."

She frowned at him, leaned forward and took another long inhale of him "Nope, You are definitely my mate." She nodded determinedly.

"But I do-" She cut him off with another kiss, this time she ground her hips against him and Natsu froze.

'Why did that have to feel so good?' He practically demanded his mind, he managed to push her away a little again "Erza, I don't think we can just start mating."

Erza placed a finger on her cheek, before she seemed to her an idea, she snapped her fingers on got off of him, he was still having trouble deciding if that was a good or bad thing, before laying on her back "Of course, you want to start in the standard mating position, can we start now?"

Natsu stared at her in disbelief "I really don't think I am who you are looking for Erza."

She pouted and puffed her cheeks a little "You smell like my mate, therefore for you must be my mate."

"Maybe we just use the same soap," Natsu replied "How can you be sure it's me, I have definitely never met you before."

"Well of course you haven't met me before," Erza sat up looking a little confused "I only just found you."

A loud thump cut Natsu off, he looked at the tree's in front of him before another noise caught his ear "NATSU!" The small blue feline barreled through the canopy and hit him in the chest with a soft thud, Natsu caught him before he fell any lower.

"What is it buddy?" Natsu asked quickly.

"It's a mountain Vulcan, the biggest I have ever seen." Happy said worriedly.

Natsu stared in the direction of the loud crashes, that were steadily growing louder, he looked around himself, before pulling the cloak over his head sprinting forward and grabbing the box that was his mission and running back.

"Erza, put this on," He held out the long black fabric "Happy you hold this, lead her out of the forest and wait at the road, I will meet you guys there and then you can explain what you meant Erza."

Happy looked at the hybrid and raised an eyebrow at Natsu, a suggestive smirk enveloped his face "Is this your secret Giiiiiiiiiiiiirlfriend?" he elongated.

"Now is not the time Happy!" Natsu snapped.

The small blue feline pouted before landing on Erza's shoulder, the girl scratched him behind the ear before Happy pointed and the two set off Happy leaned a little closer and whispered something to Erza, but that was all Natsu could see before a loud crack and the sound of splintering wood met his ears.

**A/N: I think this is much better than the old first chapter, well tell me what you think if the rendition! I will see you in the next chapter! Peace!**


	2. Thoughts and Explanations

**A/N: It's been a week, I feel pretty good all things considered, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The large tree in front of Natsu splintered in half as the large animal broke it in half like a twig, unlike the Vulcan's of Mt Hakobe, these mountain Vulcan's were less ape-like, the thing in front of him was no exception, It's leathery skin looked tough and he knew from experience it was, that skin was as good as any magic armor, large riveted spikes ran up its outer arm, two large fangs protruded outward from its face, much like warthog tusks, the thing growled at him and bared it's teeth, showing a row and sharpened canines as its eyes followed his movements, Natsu watched the creature carefully, stepped sideways and making sure to keep his distance, obviously someone had disturbed this things winter hibernation and now he was its ideal snack choice, the things large clawed hand raked the ground leaving deep furrows in the earth as it roared at him before charging towards him.

Natsu dived out of the way and closed his fist, a large burst of fire enveloped his hand before flowing forwards off of the top of his wrist and sharpening to a point, Natsu was not renowned as one of the world's strongest wizards because he had slouched, he had trained his magic and his mind to be sharp weapons over the years at the guild, the lumbering Vulcan turned to face him, seemingly more angry than before, it barreled towards him again, he dived to the side and rolled to his feet, lashing out with the blade of fire and slicing clean through the Achilles heel of the creature, the monster let out a roar of pain and swiped at him, Natsu crossed his arms in front of him as the blow slammed into his guard, the spikes on the outside of the beasts arm embedded into his left forearm and he groaned in pain as he slammed into a tree at the opposite side of the clearing, The beast got up slowly, not deterred by its leg wound, it lumbered towards him, appearing to savor the ease of its kill, albeit its pace had slowed considerably. Natsu glared at the monster as it neared him and got to his feet slowly, blood dripping from his arm and the side of his mouth, he spat a small amount of coagulated blood from his mouth and wiped the excess from his chin, clenching his fists he let out a roar as flame engulfed him, his eyes shifted the pupils taking on cat like slits as his hair whipped around his head from the force of his magic, the Vulcan faltered slightly leaning a little too heavily on its weakened heel the beast began to topple backwards, Natsu lowered himself and shot forward leaving a large crater at his jump point, he slammed into the beasts stomach, it threw a clawed hand at him and he flipped over the blow landing deftly on the limp before sprinting towards its face along its arm he jumped forward and the fire flowed forward and sharpened in front of him, he drove the fiery blade into its eye, the thing let out a thunderous roar and swatted at him, focusing on the blade he made it longer as he ran over the top of the monsters head and down it's back, he stopped on the ground gripped the line of fire running from his hand and yanking back hard, the beasts head slammed into the ground and showered dirt over him, he let the spell fade and pulled up his other hand forcing his fire into a blade he shoved it into the top of the Vulcan's head, the thing stopped struggling and Natsu sagged, placing his hands on his knees as he sucked in air greedily, he straightened and took another deep breath before walking towards the place he had told Happy to go.

* * *

Erza pulled the fabric her mate had given her a little tighter around her, a feeling of worry was locked in her stomach as she watched the forest, from where they were they could hear the roars of the beast and according to the small blue feline, her mate as well, they had abruptly ceased a few moments ago.

"Don't worry about Natsu," Happy said nonchalantly "He might get dinged up, but there is no way a Mountain Vulcan is going to beat him, even one as large as that."

"I can't help but worry," Erza responded quickly "I just found him, he can't go off and get himself killed now."

"I told you, he is probably one of the strongest mages in the world, he will be fine." Happy was slightly more determined than before, Erza turned to look at the small feline, she noticed something different, he was worried about his friend too, he was just trying to keep his mind on something else, she decided to drop it.

She sat beside the small cat on one of the many tree stumps that dotted the space they were in "Your right, he seemed confident back there, he will beat it."

Happy chuckled and nodded "Glad you agree."

"Well, good to see you two getting so chummy," The voice caused both of them to rip around, Happy launched himself at Natsu latching onto his head before settling himself on Natsu's shoulder, Erza brought a hand to her mouth and let out a slow gasp, she looked at the three puncture wounds on Natsu's right forearm, blood flowed freely from those wounds, a smaller trickle of crimson flowed from his left eye "Happy, I am going to need the medical supplies in your pack."

"Aye, Sir!" Happy chirped, jumping from his friends shoulder and pulling the small green pack from his own shoulders, opening the thing he pulled a small box from it, the thing had bandages and a needle and thread, as well as a small bottle of disinfectant that Natsu almost never used, he could just boil his blood to get rid of infection.

Erza was on her feet and beside Natsu in the blink of an eye, the pulled the box from Happy and sat Natsu down slowly, she grabbed his hand slowly and pulled the arm up so she could see better, she wiped a tear from her eye as she looked at the wounds.

"I am the one bleeding, why are you crying?" Natsu asked jokingly as he noticed the moisture around her eyes.

"Because, I just found you," Erza repeated resolutely "You aren't allowed to die on me."

Natsu felt a twinge of regret as he looked at the determined and at the same time sad expression of the girl in front of him, he bowed his head slightly "I'm sorry, I will be more careful."

The smile on her face made him feel better, she quickly got to work sewing him up and bandaging his wounds, Natsu watched her work quietly, he was more just admiring the girl he had quite literally stumbled upon in the forest, he finished the bandaging and he rose his arm and investigated the bind, nodding his head "Where'd you learn to do this?"

"They teach us at school," Erza answered "We need to be prepared to treat any problems our mates may have fighting or hunting."

"I still don't know if I am actually your mate," Natsu admitted as he got to his feet "How do you know it is me?"

"Well, as you can probably guess, I am not the only one of my kind," Erza replied as she got to her feet and followed after him "There are all sorts of us, from wolf type's to cat types like me, and we all have different methods for seeking out our mates, my species main sense is smell, we use it to hunt and for females to find our mates, some of us use hearing and the Bat types use a weird sound and can determine their mates off of the echo that comes back, isn't that weird?"

Natsu shook his head slightly "Um, yeah…I guess." 'it all sounded weird to him, but he understood slightly.'

"So when you smelt me back in the forest, you figured out I was your mate?" Natsu asked, even though it was more for confirmation at this point.

Erza nodded "Exactly."

Natsu nodded "So there are more like you?"

Erza nodded excitedly "Yes, we are much like the Animals of your world, only we are human, as you can see, but yes, there are Arachnid types and even a few Aquatic Types, although I never got to speak with them much."

Natsu forced the mental picture of a person with eight eyes from his head and was silently glad that a more normal type had decided he was her mate, he continued in silent contemplation for a few minutes before he realized they had arrived in town and he and his companion were garnering some attention, he heard a loud squeal and he paled slightly, grabbing Erza's arm he pulled her into a store to his left and thanked whatever god was watching over him when it was a clothing store, he pulled Erza along behind him and closed a changing room door behind him, locking it with a small click, he listened closely, a loud set of footsteps ran by the store front before fading out, he sighed and opened the door and stepped out.

The store clerk stared at him in surprise, Natsu looked at his reflection in the mirror and he wasn't surprised, he looked much like death warmed up, Erza walked up and peered into the corner of his vision carefully.

"Why did we run in here?" She asked innocently.

"Well, at first it was to hide and now I am thinking you could use some clothes, you can't just run around in my cloak forever." Natsu answered simply.

Erza smirked "Does this mean you want me around? Do you maybe like me?"

Natsu tilted his head "I like you, I think…I want to learn more about you before I make a definitive answer."

Erza nodded and Natsu continued "Do you see anything you like in this store?"

"NATSU!" The voice cut Erza off and she looked at the door to the shop, a blonde woman stood on the doorway and she was apparently angry at her mate, she watched the woman's movements carefully.

"You were supposed to be back hours ago! What have you been doing?!" The blonde demanded walking towards him.

"Ran into a mountain Vulcan and had a few problems with a the delivery," His eyes shifted to Erza for a moment before turning back to her "When did you get so stressed over the little stuff luce?"

"When the master get's on _my_ case about you being late, that's when I stress over the little stuff!" Lucy shouted angrily.

"Alright calm down," Natsu replied showing his palms "I will get up to the guild soon, I am just going to help her get some clothes."

Lucy seemed to notice someone else was there for the first time, her gaze shifted to Erza and Erza returned the look calmly, if her mate could take her anger in stride she could too.

"Natsu, when did you get into the business of kidnapping?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

"Whatever," Natsu responded "Erza, Lucy, Lucy, Erza, Lucy is my old teammate and Erza is well…Erza."

"Hello." Erza said simply.

"Natsu, I am going to have a little girl talk with Erza, why don't you go and deliver the box." Lucy said simply.

Natsu rolled his eyes, he leaned towards Erza slightly "Whatever happens don't injure her, that will cause me some problems, I will tell Happy to come down and take you back to my house, I need to go report to my guild."

Erza nodded in understanding and leaned forward, placing a small peck on Natsu cheek "I can handle myself, I will see you later."

Natsu nodded and left the store.

* * *

**A/N: The ending is a little rushed, I might edit it a bit later…but I am kinda sleepy and I haven't eaten yet so I am calling it here! Hope you all enjoyed and I will see you in tomorrow's chapter!**


	3. Forces Unseen

**A/N: So this third chapter was written AGES ago, but i didn't realize it never uploaded it, so this one will be released with the Christmas special (Pre-sleep Edition, as the name implies i wrote it before sleep) So yeah, My bad.**

Natsu exited the small clothing shop and glanced behind him, Lucy was already in her 'girl talk' and was making a set of odd hand gestures, Natsu shook his head as Happy floated down beside him.

"I am pleased to report the Fan club is on the western side of the city," He spoke clearly and even saluted before smirking "So what's up?"

"Can you hang around here and take Erza back to our place when she is done, I need to go talk to the master." Natsu asked before ruffling the fur in between Happy's ears.

"Aye, sir!" Happy saluted again and seemed to materialize a fish in his hand as he floated towards the roof of the store and sat down with his legs dangling over the edge of the roof.

"Thanks little buddy." Natsu waved as he set off towards the guild.

The Fairy Tail guild hall was quiet, which made Natsu a little nervous, even in this time of peace the guild hall tended to remain quite rowdy and in general a loud location, he pushed the door open slowly and looked around 'Did everyone go home?' the lights were off too, he walked inside and closed the door behind him.

"Hello?" He called into the dim of the guild, he was met with his own voice echoing around.

"SURPRISE!" The lights practically blinded him as they all turned on at once, poppers were shot at him and Natsu started.

"Don't do that," Natsu breathed out "Jeez, you guys scared me."

"Well it's not every day a Fairy Tail member becomes a wizard saint," Makarov called from his usual spot on the bar "And another thing, why were you late, we sent Lucy out to get you to hurry over here."

"There are a few reasons," Natsu scratched the back of his head awkwardly "I do need to talk to you about some things though."

Makarov nodded and hopped off the bar walking into his office, Natsu followed behind him and closed the door behind him.

Makarov pulled a small medallion off the desk top and flicked it to him like a coin "Congrats kiddo, you earned it."

Natsu stared down at the small engraved medal that marked him as a wizard saint and smiled before clipping it to the collar of his jacket "Thanks, oh and mission complete." He held up the box and shook it slightly before placing it on his desk.

Makarov nodded "Well, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Have you ever heard of a mountain Vulcan being awake this time of year?" Natsu asked as he sat down.

Makarov stared at him for a few seconds "So that's why you look like you were hit by a truck."

"Yeah, maybe a truck and a half, I have seen mountain Vulcan's before but nothing that big," Natsu looked at his bandaged arm, the wrappings were starting to go red, he would have to change them soon "And there is one other thing, have you ever heard of a race of animal type humans?"

Makarov stared at him in open-jawed disbelief before cracking up laughing "That's a good one boy, of course not I don't think something like that exists."

"Oh," Natsu looked at the floor for a moment before smirking "Yeah, I guess." 'I have got a surprise for you old man.' Natsu thought to himself.

"But that large Vulcan concerns me, something powerful would have had to wake it up, I will have to look into it." Makarov spoke seriously, all hints of mirth gone.

Natsu nodded "Keep me informed, if you don't mind I have a party to get too."

Makarov made a shooing movement with his hand and smirked "Go and enjoy yourself."


	4. A Hidden Enemy

Natsu walked towards his home quietly, brows furrowed in thought as he moved towards his front gate. He had dedicated a considerable amount of his funds to improve his home over the years he had been in Fairy Tail, it was a vast improvement on the decrepit shack it once was, all four of the wall stood straight for one thing, the outside was still painted red wooden planks, the yard was relatively small two small sections of grass on either side of a concrete path leading to his front door, the one too his left had a round stone in the centre where he would sometimes sit to think, he opened the door and walked inside dropping his cloak on the hanger and wincing slightly as the extension of his arm pulled the wounds on his body painfully, he placed his hand on the bandages and smirked recalling the strange cat-girl he had met in the forest earlier that day, he rolled his neck and tugged on his shoulder lightly as he walked inside, the floor was simple wood, the wall were painted white and were mostly bare, save for a painting of himself and all the guild when they were much younger on the wall at the fair end of the hallway, he passed two doors to get to the bathroom eager to take a shower to wash away the Fatigue of the day.

* * *

Erza followed the small blue cat she had met earlier that day, the small animal had told her why he had remained at the human's clothes shop, even with her considerable strength the blonde-haired human her mate had left her with had dumped an incredible amount of clothing on her, she was worried she may have spent a little too much of her mates money, she hoped he wouldn't be too angry with her.

"Don't worry about money," The small cat suddenly piped up as if reading her thoughts "Natsu had so much spare he doesn't even know what to do with it, without any hobbies other than fighting and doing guild work it saves up quickly."

"I see," Erza responded, regarding the animal carefully "How did you meet my ma- I mean Natsu." She thought she may as well get used to calling him by name, the blonde had given her a very strange look when she had called Natsu her mate.

"We are best friends, I have known him forever…Well I say friends, but the guy is closer to my father, He raised me, with the help of an old friend, but it never felt right to call him dad, us being of a different species and all it was pretty obvious I wasn't really his." Happy chuckled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly "But we have been inseparable since I was born."

"Oh, really?" Erza was quite interested in the cat now "I don't think you ever told me your name."

"It's Happy," The cat, Happy answered with a smile "Natsu came up with it, when he saw the reaction of the people around me."

"Well it's nice to meet you Happy, My name is Erza, I hope we get along." Erza responded with a smile, her tail swishing behind her.

Happy nodded "The house is right here." Happy pointed toward the gate "Just go through the door and put your stuff on the first room to the left of the hallway."

"You are not coming in?" Erza asked

"I am going to go fishing for a little while, tell Natsu I will be back later." Happy responded as his two small wings materialized behind him and he took off.

Erza gave him a wave before inspecting her mates home, it was surprisingly well kept as he walked towards the front door and opened it she peered around, Natsu's coat was there and she could hear the sound of water running, doing as Happy instructed her she placed her things in the first room to the left and walked down the hallway, she looked around the living room and kitchen, there was single two seated couch facing a oddly shaped black box, a table sat in between with a few glasses collecting dust on it. The kitchen was a simple one, a small hallway like path with two counter tops, one ended with the stove and over the other held overheard cupboards and the sink. She quickly got bored of exploring and decided to see if Natsu wanted anything.

She walked up to the door his scent was coming from the strongest and knocked twice, hearing no response she decided to stick her head in the room, it was quite a bit warmer in the small tiled space than it was outside, a thick layer of steam shrouded the room, she could make out the barely visible shadow of her mate behind a white curtain at the other end of the room, walking into the room she closed the door behind her softly.

Natsu stood and let the hot water of the shower wash over him, his arm was over his eyes as he thought he sighed and stood up, grabbing the bar of soap from the small rack he had in his shower, he rubbed the brick of soap over himself.

"I wish I had someone to wash my back." He thought audibly with his eyes still closed.

"I'll do it!" A voice he recognized piped excitedly.

Natsu's eyes shot open and he started as he whirled around, he regretted the decision immediately, his eyes locked on the naked body and incredibly voluptuous of Erza, he grabbed his nose and averted his eyes quickly, despite his wished his eyes continued to flick over her body "W-What are you doing in here?" He stuttered out.

"I got tired of exploring your home on my own," Erza informed simply her ears twitching ever so slightly in excitement, she enjoyed the way her mate seemed to be trying to avoid looking at her "Did you expect me to just sit out there?" She purred suddenly leaning into his ear.

Natsu took a deep breath, place a hand on her shoulder and leaned her away, struggling to keep his urges under control as he locked his eyes on her naked form again, droplet of water had begun to form over her breasts, but he forced his eyes to hers "I told you I wanted to get to know you a little better, you can't just barge into the bathroom and join me."

Erza pouted, the sight was incredibly cute and he struggled to keep his resolve as her ears flattened depressingly to her head, Natsu clenched his teeth "But, it's okay as long as we don't do anything, okay?" 'damnit, I hope she thinks I am not compromising to that face.' Natsu thought irritably.

Erza perked up instantly "I understand!" she hid her smile behind one that looked like excitement 'It really does work.' she thought happily.

Natsu handed the soap to her "Just washing my back, okay?"

Erza nodded happily, of course she had something in mind, but she would wait a few minutes to see whether or not she would go through with it.

She rubbed the small bar of soap in between her hands until the foamed, placing the soap down she placed her hands on Natsu's back, his muscles twitched at the contact but slowly relaxed as she moved her hands in a circular motion, the tenseness in Natsu's shoulders slowly relaxed and she moved her hands down his back.

Natsu struggled to stop himself from moaning in bliss, her hands seemed to melt tension in his body at insanely quick rates, that coupled with the heat of the water, the fact that she was naked behind him and his imagination certainly were not contributing positively to his mindset and it didn't really matter how intently he focused on staying calm, his body certainly was not going to listen to him in this situation.

Erza was blissfully aware of the effect she was having on her mates body, she continued on his back until she reached his waist, before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his body pressing her breasts against his back and resting her hand just above his member, she heard Natsu gasp and smirked against the back of his neck.

Natsu knew she had been teasing him on purpose, he smirked as he contemplated what he could do in this situation, he figured a surprise attack was his best bet, he stepped forward and spun around before moving back to her and pressing his lips against hers, Erza let out a surprised squeak before falling into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his head and holding him against her until oxygen was scare between the pair and they had to pull away.

"That's not fair." Erza pouted, although the edges of her mouth were still upturned in a smile.

"All is fair in love and war," Natsu quoted as he turned the shower off "I am going to get a little bit of training done, help yourself to any food in the kitchen."

Erza nodded, she was still slightly breathless from the kiss they had just shared, she hadn't expected it or thought he would be that good at kissing either. By the time she regained her senses Natsu had already dressed and left the bathroom.

* * *

Natsu took a deep breath as he stepped out the front door, he slid his coat back on and walked to the round stone in the left half of his front yard, he stopped and crossed his legs as he sat down, taking another deep breath, it was only a matter of time before he gave in to his urges around Erza, sending her away was not an option and now he had to worry about whatever was pulling the strings behind that massive Vulcan in the forest, he took another deep breath and closed his eyes, heat radiated off of him and melted the snow around his legs as he thought.

"It's pointless hiding," Natsu announced loudly "I know you are there."

"Hm, So the rowdy Dragon slayer really has trained his mind," A slightly ominous voice noted, Natsu opened his eyes and turned his head to stare at the person on the opposite side of his yard the person wore a black suit the completely covered their skin, a mask covered everything but their eyes and a hood covered his hair, his eyes glowed an ominous purple as he spoke again "Tell me, is it true something has finally captured your heart?"

Natsu disappeared from the spot he was sitting and slammed into the tree behind the masked figure 'I missed?' Natsu thought as he spun around, just in time to see the masked figure to dematerialize and appear at the other side of the yard 'No, it's a thought projection.' Natsu concluded "So what are you here for?"

"A simple warning, That Vulcan was not the first piece of my plan and it won't be the last and guess what, they are all coming after you." the masked man threatened.

"You are trying to frighten me?" Natsu scoffed "I hope for your sake you know who you are threatening, you will need more than an army to defeat me."

"We will see." The masked man responded.

"Tch." Natsu clicked his tongue irritably, turning his head to the tree he had hit, he waited a moment before the thing splintered into his side fence, he shook his head and walked back inside.


	5. Setting the Stage

**A/N:So, I turned 19 and I feel old already. In other news I started Akagami no Shirayuki-hime and I'm loving it so far, the characters are so well portrayed, I have a few plot bunnies inspired from it, so you might see a new fiction in the near future.**

**Important story stuff, the Christmas Lemon chapter will be removed from this fic and placed in its own One-shot, that lemon was designed as a special Christmas thing and it kind of throws my original plan for the story off, so I will be removing it from this fiction, basically it never happened, so yeah.**

* * *

Natsu paced around his front yard for a few moments, examining the splintered pieces of tree that decorated his front yard 'They are all coming for you.' He quoted in his head as he took a deep breath 'I'm perfectly capable of dealing with them on my own, but he knows about Erza and I've never known any bad guy to play fair when it comes to love interests.' He paused 'Love interests?' He questioned in his own mind slowly 'I suppose that what this is isn't it,' He thought back to the kiss he'd shared with the strange cat girl in his shower and rubbed his chin 'I've certainly never had the urge to do _that_ before.'

"Mate?"

Natsu snapped out of his thoughts as the voice reached his ears "Uh, Erza? What happened?"

Erza tilted her head slightly, ears twitching as they picked up on the worry in his tone "Nothing's wrong, with me anyway, I can tell something's worrying you."

Natsu stiffened slightly before relaxing and taking a deep breath "Just thinking about some things, everything's fine." He smiled at the red head reassuringly.

Erza watched him apprehensively 'Does he not trust me enough to tell me? Or is it something else?' "Ok." He replied calmly.

'She knows' His mind practically roared at him 'Well, maybe not all of it, but she knows something's off,' Natsu pinched his side hard and winced 'Now's not the time for these thoughts, I can sort out my feelings when we are both safe.'

"It's really fine, let's go inside are you hungry?" Natsu asked as he walked passed her, she followed after him silently.

"No." She replied "I would like you to tell me what's-"

She cut off as her stomach growled quite loudly, he placed the back of her hand over her mouth and coughed "I suppose I could eat."

Natsu sighed "Not convincing in the slightest, go sit down I'll cook something to eat."

Erza pouted and crossed her arms as she sat down and the small dining table 'Is he really not going to tell me anything, what was that kiss then? I thought he was warming up to me, at least a little.' She thought to herself, she leaned over slightly to watch Natsu moved around the kitchen, she could tell he was thinking about something, from the way his brow furrowed and he occasionally stopped to pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh. She could sense the uneasiness from him, her ears twitched at the sensation of it and her tail dropped by her side lazily. She got to her feet slowly and padded towards him.

Natsu heard the sound of footsteps behind him and glanced around, Erza leaned against the doorframe of his kitchen and stared at him, he could see the effect his mood was having on her, he ran a hand through his hair in exasperation and sighed "Someone's after me." He began slowly "I don't know who it is, but that Vulcan from earlier today was something _he_ sent, but form the brief conversation I had with him he knows about you."

Natsu didn't turn to face her as he spoke, she moved towards him while she listened silently "So, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's wrong with that!" Natsu defended quickly before taking a breath "I'm worried he might use you to get to me, I really-I don't want." He trailed off "Ah, talking's never been this hard before!"

Erza couldn't help but chuckle slightly "Well, if this human is my mates enemy than he is my enemy!" She exclaimed cheerily.

"I don't think it will be that sim-" Natsu cut off as Erza pushed her body flush against his and placed her lips forcefully over his.

"I find you, I'm not going to let you out of my sight, _ever_, if this human is threatening you he's threatening both of us." Erza explained, rubbing her thumb over Natsu's cheek slowly as she smiled gently.

Natsu took comfort in the feeling of her warmth for a moment and sighed as he glanced up, she was his eyes widened slightly and he pulled her passed him quickly as magic energy flared around his arm and materialized into a blade, she heard it slice through something and a metallic thud sounded when the thing hit the wall beside her, it took her a moment to realize it was a blade.

Natsu rotated slightly and slammed his first into the cloaked attacker, the man grunted and was forced back a few steps, he still held the cut in half sword hilt, a small piece of the jagged blade remained attached to it.

Erza hissed at the attacked and ripped the blade free and spun on her heel, launching the thing at the man like a missile, the blade struck home, embedding itself into the man's chest with a resounding thud.

The pair watched as the man slid his foot forward slowly, dropping it down with a heavy thud, a small trickle of liquid fell from the blade and hit the ground, when the black ooze hit the floor it hissed as the wood of the floor began to melt.

"It's a shade." Natsu realized audibly, he glanced around quickly "As much as I'd like to not break my entire house, he opened his palm and a steady jet of fire hit the window behind the pair, the window blew out quickly and Natsu gestured for Erza to go first, the girl dived through the broken window quickly and landed with lightly she turned around and waited for Natsu to follow after her.

Natsu rotated and brought his heel down in a kick, a line of fire flew from the blow and sliced the shade in half, Natsu jumped back and flipped over as he landed beside Erza deftly, his hand outstretched on the ground he pulsed a small amount of his magic power into the ground that ran along the ground in every direction, it struck the side of his house and the fence and the wood quickly caught alight, casting shadows around them as he stood up and cracked his neck and slammed his fist into his palm.

The shadows surrounding them began to take shape, forming the shapes of armed men and beasts, the beast snarled and Erza slammed into the ground on all forms as her body began to shift, her eyes dyed gold and her pupils narrowed to slits, her teeth sharpened to fangs and her hands became sharp taloned paws.

Natsu saw the muscles in her legs tense as she watched the things that surrounded them "Don't bother physical attacks won't work on them."

Erza glanced at him, she pushed back to her feet and reverted to her less feral appearance "So, How do I use magic?"

"I'll be happy to explained it to you," Natsu groaned as he clenched his fists and held his arms beside himself as he gritted his teeth "The moment we are not in danger, get as close to me as you can."

Erza leaned her back against Natsu and stood still as the shades around them began moving forward slowly, when Natsu made no movement she glanced at him worriedly "Mate?" She questioned slowly.

The thud of the things footsteps resounded around the silence, Natsu breathed in deeply and didn't move.

"Mate?!" She demanded in a more worried tone.

The shades paused momentarily as they leaned back before pouncing forward, Erza ducked down and placed her hands over her head "MATE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Natsu's eyes snapped open "**Fire Dragon's Nova." **He growled darkly, fire spread around the pair of them and circled them like a tornado before it flew outwards and engulfed everything around them, Natsu sagged low as the spell dissipated, Erza scurried around and lifted his head worriedly, his eyes dropped heavily, as far as she could tell he was just exhausted and had no other injuries, she smiled in relief and pulled his head against her chest tightly, she looked around them and froze, the Shades stood frozen in the exact same places, even the ones that had jumped into the air, in fact the whole scene seemed like it had just frozen in time, a breeze pulled at her hair and the scene cracked, before it scattered into the wind, she looked around herself in slight wonder, even her mates home had completely vanished.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Erza questioned audibly, Natsu had already passed out against her chest.

"As expected from the great _Salamander_," A dark voice hissed angrily, Erza snapped around and glared at the masked figure 'How'd he get there without even giving off a scent?' She thought quickly "So you must be the one who holds the Dragon's Heart? How does it feel to have the ability to manipulate all that power?"

Erza hissed angrily at the figure as she launched it, her eyes widened in surprise as she struck nothing but air, she glared at the masked figure angrily as the person rotated and slammed it's foot into her stomach, sending her hurtling away, Erza coughed as she attempted to get air back into her lungs, the power of the person in front of her surprised her, she glanced at Natsu who was still unconscious on the ground and got to her feet, albeit a little shakily.

"I'm impressed you can still move." The robed person praised darkly as they moved towards Erza slowly.

The stopped abruptly when someone grabbed a hold of their shoulder "Looks like you're not a projection anymore." Natsu growled darkly, magic energy flared around Natsu as he ignited his fist and threw it at the person, the robed figure didn't even attempt to dodge he allowed the blow to pass through him, Natsu's eyes narrowed as he lifted his knee and locked it against the person's counter "Cheap parlor tricks won't protect you from me." He growled.

Now that Erza was looking at it from another angle she could figure out what happened, it wasn't that the blows would pass through, the person would leave a thought projection in the exact spot he was standing and step back, making you as a striker believe you had punched through him, when all you had hit was a thought projection.

Natsu grabbed the person by the collar and ripped him over his shoulder, the person rotated and landed on his feet, the robed man slammed his palm into the ground and a cloud of black smoke exploded from the spot.

Natsu spun around and forced the smoke away with the air her generated with his fire.

"As fun as it would be to duke it out with you know, you should be more concerned about what I have in store for you." The masked man chuckled "New member of the Wizard Saints."

Natsu wiped his mouth calmly "You'll need more than an army to take me out, I'm all fired up."

* * *

**A/N: And the stage is set, I know there wasn't much fluff in this chapter, but I promise it's coming! But in the meantime I hope you enjoyed this chapter and any of my other fictions you read, as always I will see you guys in the next one, peace!**


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